Macau to continue push towards diversification

In Macau, Economy and Finance Secretary Lionel Leong Vai Tac (pictured) has reportedly announced that the town is to continue with its policy of supporting neighborhood casino firms to diversify their offerings so as to encircle more non-gaming attractions.

Official policy:

Based on a Monday report by GGRAsia, Leong said that such a strategy will enable the former Portuguese enclave to attract a much wider array of visitors while moreover assisting the casino industry in becoming more sustainable and less reliant upon high-grossing but frequently unreliable VIP gamblers.

Visitor variety:

The Friday revelation from Leong also included a revelation that mass-market gamblers ‘ ‘much more diversified’ and frequently visit areas outside of the city’s traditionally gambling-friendly downtown and Cotai Strip places. He announced that this can be a far more reliable means of dispersing visitor load and tourist money throughout all of Macau.

Mass-market climbs:

Leong additionally revealed that mass-market players had accounted for approximately half of Macau’s aggregated gross gambling revenues in January and February as opposed to approximately ‘20% to 30 percent previously. ’ He proceeded to add that such a change had led to a ‘better’ revenue structure and helped the town in getting more ‘resilient’ contrary to economic fluctuations.

Gambling earnings retreat:

Leong’s revelation came after the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau had detailed a year-on-year growth of just 4.4percent in February aggregated gross gambling revenues. This usually means that such takings since the beginning of January endure at approximately 0.5% lower compared to the exact same two-month period in 2018 though the International Monetary Fund had purportedly earlier explained that it expects Macau to chalk up entire economic growth this year of roughly 5.3%.

According to a February 25 filing from the International Monetary Fund…

“The most important driver of medium-term growth is tourism with mass gambling and non-gaming tourism further expanding but more subdued VIP gaming growth in line with government ’ diversification attempts towards more stable sources of growth.